The Getting Together of Prongs and Evans
by ShelPenguin
Summary: This is my first Marauder-era fanfiction! This is a way I can see James and Lily getting together. It takes place their 7th year at Hogwarts. With tragedy comes a reward, and James's reward is Lily Evans. This is a short story so I will post a new chapter after getting some feedback. Please leave love and opinions on how I wrote this era! Thank you!
1. The Tragedy

**The Getting Together of Prongs and Evans**

_Plot: This is a way I can imagine James and Lily finally getting together. The story takes place sometime during February, 1978 (their 7th year). With a tragedy comes a 'win', or in, this case, with a loss comes love. James Potter finally gets what he wants - Lily Evans._

**A/N:** This is my first Marauder-era fanfiction! Yikes! Please let me know what you think because I'm not extremely confident with this era yet. This story is going to have three chapters; if I get good feed back for this then I'll be posting the next chapter on Monday!

**I don't own these people.**

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**Chapter One - The Tragedy**

"Black! Black - wake up! Wake up!"

Sirius groaned and rolled away from the sound. In his slumberous state, Sirius did not acknowledge that it was Professor McGonagall's voice that was at his bedside nor did he acknowledge the urgency it held.

"Black -" her harsh tone came again. "_Sirius_, wake - up!"

Professor McGonagall's throat emitted a growl and she shoved her student's shoulder hard, unable to understand how the boy woke up in time for the morning classes.

"Whatsgoinon?" Sirius slurred, looking around his four-poster blearily.

"You need to wake up."

Sirius glanced over his shoulder and saw his head of house, towering over him in her striped night gown, her long hair falling from it's tight knot. The trouble maker jumped back, yanking his covers up underneath his chin.

"What are you doing here, Minnie?" He croaked, half asleep, half horrified.

Professor McGonagall, for the first time in seven years, ignored the Marauder's personal nickname for her.

"Where is Potter?" She questioned briskly.

"What -?"

"James - where is James!?"

Sirius stared at her quizzically for a long moment. He half thought that his friend had done a prank without him and was on the run from the professor, but her tone told him otherwise. It wasn't stern like usual, it was gruff but also soft. It was because of the voice that Sirius answered her, no questions asked.

"On patrol, with Evans."

"We need to find him," she replied hastily. She grabbed Sirius's night robes from the corner of his bed and Sirius grimaced, _had he just sold out his mate?_

"What for?" Sirius asked slowly, sitting up warily.

The witch froze. Very slowly, she craned her neck to look at the young boy, looking grave. Sirius understood immediately upon seeing her expression that he had responded correctly about James's whereabouts, and the thought made him sick.

"Stephen and Delilah passed away early this evening, Sirius," she answered gently, in a very low and caring voice. She knew that Sirius was the second son the Potters had never biologically had, that Sirius lived with the family. "You and James have permission to return to Potter Manor tonight."

Sirius was staring at her in horror, gazing up at his respected professor as if he had never seen her before. A nauseating feeling washing over him and he felt as if he was about to swallow his tongue.

Without knowing he had, Sirius began to mumble, "No... no; not -"

"Sirius, I...," Professor McGonagall trailed off. She knew nothing she could say would soothe her student. Her calling him by his first name was comforting to Sirius, though, because of her tone. She had never called them by their first names before, and had sincerely hoped that she wouldn't until they had graduated. "I am so sorry," she finally said. "I can accompany the two of you, if you wish."

Sirius didn't reply to her. His mind had suddenly caught up with the surroundings and his body snapped into action, his legs swinging over the side of his bed. He took the cloak from Professor McGonagall then rushed to the bed across from his.

"Remus!" he shouted frantically. His friend is a light sleeper, but perhaps Sirius shouting would tell Remus that he actually needed to _move_. Sirius began to search around and under Remus's bed, including his night stand.

"Wha?" Remus's disheveled coffee-brown hair appeared, hiding his eyes. Obviously the hair did not block his sight, though, because upon seeing Sirius he became alarmed. With one wave of his hand, Remus's hair was pushed back and his curtains were drawn. "What's wrong?"

"Where's the map?" said Sirius wildly, not pulling his eyes away from the task at hand.

Remus's quarters was now a great mess, but the werewolf was only bothered by his friend's antics. Sirius needed to find James - they had to get to Potter Manor and they had to begin to sort out the fact that they were orphans. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were Sirius's parents as well, they had even said so themselves, having taken him in when he had no where else to go. Even before Sirius lived with the family, he had spend nearly every holiday with them.

"It's - why? What - _Professor?_"

Remus could no longer form a coherent sentence. By the uneas feeling that was enveloping him from how Sirius was acting to the heart-broken face of his Transfiguration professor, he didn't think he wanted to know what was going on.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter have passed away, Mr. Lupin," she told him softly.

The little color that occupied Remus's face vanished at once and his jaw visibly slackened. He stared at her, his eyes filtering to Sirius for a second and then, quite suddenly, he lept out of bed.

"It's over here, Sirius," he called, springing to the other side of the dormitory, reaching into a tight book case of his that was near the door of the loo. Remus's hand retrieved an aged piece of parchment and whirled around to face Sirius, who was straightening himself up. Remus shook his head at himself, "I knew you wouldn't look there."

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Remus muttered to the parchment, touching it with the tip of his wand. He glanced at Professor McGonagall warily as she gaped at him with a mix of frustration - _that's how they do it! _- and admiration and curiosity.

Sirius tore the map open. Together, he and Remus scanned the map for their friend's name. They spotted '_Evans, Lily'_ first on the West side of the sixth floor and soon after they saw '_Potter, James' _on the East side.

"I'll get James," Sirius told Remus. "You find Evans, that way she knows."

Remus nodded and with that, Sirius turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room without another word. Remus knew that James and Sirius would be going to Potter Manor to sort our the affairs, and he can only hope that he can visit them over the upcoming weekend. Very untactfully, Remus ripped Peter's drapes open and pulled the pillow out from under Peter's head. Peter gasped, and then again as his own pillow made contact with his face.

"Wake up!" demanded Remus loudly, hitting him in the face with the pillow again. Peter spluttered, sititng up and looking thoroughly confused.

Remus turned to Professor McGonagall. "I assume you shoud wait for James and Sirius in Professor Dumbledore's office, ma'am."

Taken aback by being addressed so authoritatively by her student, she nodded once and then briskly left the dorm room. Remus yelled at Peter to stay awake, and then followed his professor out, breaking into a run once he had cleared the stairs.

Sirius landed hard on the balls of his feet as he cleared the last three marble stairs. Ignoring the sharp pain that shot up his spine from doing so, he looked around desperately. He had just reached where the map had shown James, so he knew that his brother was close.

"James!" he shouted, and several of the portraits jumped awake. Going on as if they weren't scolding him, Sirius continued to shout, "James! Prongs! Prongs where are you - _argh!_"

James had rounded the corridor's corner and ran straight into Sirius.

"Padfoot, what the bloody hell are you going on about? You can't be running around, yelling like a madman, at this time of night -"

But Sirius had managed to regain his breath. He grabbed ahold of James's shoulders and, panting, looking into the hazel eyes that were slightly above his grey ones.

"James," he panted. "James, your - your mum and dad... Jame, they're... they're dead."

James stared blankly back into the grey orbs, not blinking. He swayed slightly on his feet, staying put only because Sirius was holding him tightly. His body's first response was to shake his head.

"No -"

"Jamie, I am so sorry," Sirius told him, tears welling up in his eyes. He had not yet let himself mourn; he had been too preoccupied with finding the remaining Potter. Minnie came and told me. She asked me to find you. We're going home -"

"How?" James finally uttered, his voice dry of emotion. "How did... It wasn't Death Eaters, was it?"

James's shock turned to fury in less than a second at the thought of his old parents being murdered. They were not in the Order of the Phoenix, but helped them considerably by offering them a room in Potter Manor, by feeding them, and by healing their wounds. Sirius realized at once that he did not know how Mr. and Mrs. Potter had reached their fate, but told James that they would find out when they got to Professor Dumbledore's office. But if their deaths were from the hands of Voldemort, someone would pay.

"Remus?" Lily's melodic voice floated to Remus's ears and he snapped around to see her, standing ten or so feet away from him. She was wearing a lightly colored cloak with her hair tied back with unusual sloppiness. When she saw her friend's expression, her face went from cheerful to worried. "What is it, Remus?" asked Lily, jogging to meet with him.

"James and Sirius are leaving," he answered in a bleak voice. It's not a lie, but it's not what he needs to say.

"What?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter -" Remus's voice cut off momentarily. He hadn't yet had to say it. He had been close to the Potters, of course. Granted, he was not as close to them as Sirius had been, but he was still very close. "They died, Lily," he whispered. "They're dead."

Lily's mouth fell open as she gazed at Remus with a horrified expression. Tears came to her eyes immediately and she covered her mouth. She had met the two - they, having never met her before, only heard of her, invited her to spend this past Christmas with them. Thinking back, Lily wasn't quite sure how it had come about. One night on patrol, she told James that she wasn't going home for the holidays; Petunia and her walrus were planning their wedding and Lily had no interest in being present.

James had offered his home to her, saying that he didn't want to spend Christmas alone at Hogwarts. Lily hadn't taken him seriously - they had only just started to actually talk. James had also not asked her out once this year, his head was completely deflated and his ego seemed to be a normal size now adays. Two days later, James approached her after the Great Hall received mail.

_"My mum said you can come home with Padfoot and I for Christmas, Evans," he said casually, sitting sideways beside her. "My dad's really looking forward to meeting you. I just want to tell you know that he is a tease so he may approach you as 'my future-daughter-in-law', and I would like you to ignore that."_

"Oh no," moaned Lily. "Are James and Sirius alright? Where are they? How is James handling -"

"I don't know," Remus replied quietly. He couldn't stop himself from enveloping Lily in his arms - he needed a hug right now and Lily gladly accepted and returned it. "Sirius ran off to find him and tell him. I suppose they're leaving now."

"Do you think we'll be able to attend the service?"

"I don't think that they'll not let us go," Remus shrugged as they pulled a part.

"Good," whispered Lily, nodding once to nothing in particular. She pushed her hair back, breathing in deeply. "I'm done with patrol tonight. Come to the kitchens with me?"

"The kitchens?" Remus repeated, a little hurt and flabbergasted at the way Lily has skipped the mourning period that follows death.

"Comfort food," Lily explained, wiping her eyes again.

Relief flooded Remus and his shoulder slumped slightly. "Oh - _oh_, yes. I could do with some chocolate now."

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Please review! Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Processing

**The Getting Together of Prongs and Evans**

**A/N:** Thank you for the follows and the reviews! As promised, here is the second chapter to this story. If I get feedback for this I'll try to post the third chapter on Wednesday. Thank you for reading, please leave your thoughts below!

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**Chapter Two - Processing**

Word that Mr. and Mrs. Potter had passed away had made it's way through the school by breakfast the next morning. Portraits were talking about it, James having had talked to nearly all of the them that hung up and down the corridors. The Gryffindors had an especially hard time focusing, but the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were having difficulties as well. The Slytherins, unsurprisingly, ignored the tragedy and if anything, complained about how James and Sirius were getting more attention then before.

Lily, Remus, Peter and Marlene were the most numb; they couldn't concentrate on anything and classes were much harder to get through because of their lack of attention.

In Herbology, Peter was sent to the Hospital Wing after being bitten by a Green Tree thorn which held a virus and made him quite ill for the rest of the day. Marlene cleaned her nail polish off during Arithmancy just so that she could bite them. Remus had fallen asleep during his Divination lesson (Lily saw no problem with this, but the point was that Remus _never_ slept during class.) And in Potions, Lily's cauldron exploded twice before Professor Slughorn told them that they best talk to Professor Dumbledore, looking thoroughly disappointed in one of his favorite students.

That talk came towards the end of Transfiguration, which Professor Dumbledore was teaching for the day while Professor McGonagall was at Potter Manor. Professor Dumbledore, though not nearly as cheerful as usual, couldn't help but smile at Lily's chewed bottom lip. He plan on making her Head Girl and James Head Boy had worked - the two are now friends and he got the feeling that Lily liked him more than so.

"Have you seen them?" asked Lily when Professor Dumbledore began to walk around to check on the student's work for the day.

"I have, Miss Evans," he nodded, his voice sounding grave. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Black are with Professor McGonagall and are planning the service for Stephen and Delilah; it will be held on Sunday. They were old, great wizards and they died together - Mr. Potter assured me that they wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Professor Dumbledore informed them, then added with a small smile, "And I quite agree."

"It's true," agreed Remus softly, his voice thick with emotion. He looked around at Lily and a small smile tugged at his scarred lips. "Stephen chased Delilah," he chuckled - Stephen had always been a big 'get Evans' supporter. "They were married for over fifty years... Besides James I don't think they loved anyone more than each other."

Professor Dumbledore smiled brightly at this and Lily grabbed Remus's hand.

"What caused them to die, sir?" Lily, unable to help herself, asked. She had seen the two doting parents only seven weeks previously and they had been just fine.

"Ah, alas, my dear, it was Dragon Pox that claimed them," the bearded wizard told them solemnly. "Their house-elf, Lulu, told Professor McGonagall and the boys that they came down with an awful case last weekend. They didn't say anything because they did not want to distract Mr. Potter or Mr. Black. They knew that if they were to die, then they would be at peace."

The lunch hour followed Transfiguration and the three exited the room, making their way to the Great Hall. All of them were in another state of shock that Mr. and Mrs. Potter were gone - forever. Remus had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Lulu had known of her masters's fate, yet had not said anything to James. He was not, however, surprised that Mr. and Mrs. Potter wanted to leave the world silently and with each other.

They got themselves a plate of food and one for Peter as well before making their way back up through the castle to the Hospital Wing. Peter was sitting up, though he looked rather pale and a little revolted at the sight of food.

"What did I miss?"

Lily, Remus and Marlene relayed what had happened in their classes following Herbology. They also told him everything Professor Dumbledore had told them - the service is on Sunday, they're allowed to go, and the Potters passed awya in their sleep peacefully with a case of Dragon Pox. Professor Dumbledore had also told the teenagers that Professor McGonagall was worried that James won't return to school.

"He has to come back to Hogwarts, though!" Marlene exclaimed, though it was obvious that if James did not return, she would understand. "It wouldn't be the same without James here."

"Not for us, really," agreed Peter quietly. He adored Remus, of course, but James and Sirius were his idols.

"I know."

Lily had said it so softly and she was so entranced with the stitching of Peter's blanket that she wasn't sure if any of her friends had actually heard her.

Lily had an advanced Transfiguration lesson after her second Potions and when she got back to the common room long after her friends, she flopped down on a long sofa, using Remus as a pillow.

"I told you not to take all of those classes," he said casually, continuing to read his book.

"I need to take them at some point -" Remus snorted. "Thank God I don't have any homework this weekend."

"I'll probably end up staying up on Sunday and catching James and Sirius up," he muttered.

"You don't -" Lily pushed herself up. "You don't think that they'll drop out, do you?"

Remus thought for a minute and then shrugged. "I have no idea, to be completely honest."

He didn't know because he knew how close James had been to both of his parents - he had a very special relationship with both of them having been an only child. James and Sirius were in a hard decision; they were too young to be going through what they're going through, to lose their parents.

Later that night, Remus joined Lily on patrol. They talked more than they patrolled, and the conversation helped the hour go by faster. She and Remus had become friends their first year. He had passed her and Severus as they left James Sirius behind in the compartment and shared a friendly smile with her. Lily didn't know that he had sat with her new enemies on the train until the next week when she saw all of them together, and she had seemed rather affronted that _her_ friend Remus could be friends with _them_.

Lily found out about Remus's badly behaved rabbit their fourth year. The revelation made them even closer friends and when Remus wasn't in class, eating, turning into a werewolf, causing mischief or getting into trouble (or getting his friends out of it), they hung out - "studied" - around the grounds or in the library. James and Sirius were, of course, furious with Remus for telling her about his "time of the month" while they had to figure it out themselves - _("You told Evans, but not us! _Wow. _We love you too, Moony!") _

And, secretly, James would pester Remus for information about the redhead.

The two Marauders that were still at Hogwarts sat with Lily and Marlene the next morning at breakfast. Their schedules were considerably more empty than the day before, it being a Friday. Out of the six lesson hours, three were opens for Peter, two were for Remus and Marlene, and Lily only had one.

The opens were spent packing for the weekend away from Hogwarts along with finishing up the last of homework so they wouldn't have to do it later. Lily was the last to come down the stairs with a small bag packed for two days. She had gotten everything together rather quickly, thanks to Marlene. The four put their things beside the portrait hole as they had been told to and then made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"I am done!" exclaimed Peter indignantly when Remus had offered to help him finish his homework.

Remus held his hands up in defense and cooed to the watery-eyed wizard that sat opposite him. A couple of fifth year girls giggled at him and he turned pink.

"Just give into the girls, Remy," Marlene told him coyly, touching the man's knee playfully.

Remus gave her a look and rolled his eyes. "My rabbit takes too much of my time. I can't introduce a girl to it now."

Lily and Peter laughed at Remus's comment and at Marlene's expression.

"You and your rabbit freak me out, man."

All of them laughed. Eventually they were full and so they made their way to Professor Dumbledore's office. The headmaster called through the door for them to come in, and stood up as they entered. The four bags were piled up in a large chair. Each of them pulled out the one that belonged to them and talked with Professor Dumbledore for a few minutes.

"Professor McGonagall is waiting for you four to floo in," he told them. Walking up to the headmaster's grand fire place, one after another, they each floo'd to Potter Manor.

Upon arriving in the Come and Go room of Potter Manor, they were faced with Professor McGonagall. Her face held a somber smile.

"Good evening, you four," she said as they brushed the soot off themselves. She was wearing casual robes and her students felt very odd to see their professor like this.

There was silence for a moment as everyone took in the familiar home.

"James and Sirius are in the breakfast nook."

Remus led his friends out of the Come and Go room and through the house to the breakfast nook. James and Sirius were sitting at the corner booth with _The Prophet _laid out on the table in front of them.

The two looked up as the five entered the solarium-like room. James smiled a little when he saw them and both of them slid from the booth. Greeting them, they went down the line - hugging Remus, Peter, Marlene and Lily. James hugged Lily last, and the longest.


	3. The Service

**A/N: **So here's the final chapter of this short story. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to those who have reviewed, favorited and followed this story. I do hope I did the Marauders justice!

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**Chapter Three - The Service**

"James, seriously, let me -"

"No."

"- I don't want you to do everything this morning -"

"I don't want to be babied because my parents are dead."

Lily flinched, staring at James with a grimace - her stomach twisting with guilt. James's expression was blank as he continued on preparing the food.

"I'm sorry, James," Lily apologized sincirely.

"I know you didn't mean anything of it," he replied indifferently.

Today is the day of the service - in an hour or so people will arrive at Potter Manor to eat and talk before apparating to Godric's Hollow for the burial. Professor McGonagall had gone through Stephen's and Delilah's contact book and sent a letter to those who were still alive. Through their travels and long lives, they met a lot of people; people from France, Russia, Germany, Romania, the States, and people who do and did work at St. Mungo's and the Ministry are coming.

"Well... Is there anything I _can_ help you with?"

"You can - you can help me set out all of the food."

Lily was happy to be able to help James with something. He and Sirius have resolutely been demanding not to be pampered whatsoever, to be allowed to show the least amount emotion as possible. When their friends confronted Professor McGonagall, she assured the four that James and Sirius mourned Thursday and Friday, and, she thinks, that they will mourn more at the service.

The chef's kitchen in Potter Manor had a huge counter-island, so they placed most of the food on it, then spread the rest out over the other counters.

Professor McGonagall had returned to Hogwarts the previous night and was going to be coming for the service with Professors Dumbledore, Sprout, Vektor, and Flitwick. Once the food was spread around and the house was cleaned and ready for so many people, the Marauders, Lily, and Marlene filtered up the stairs to get ready.

Several people that they didn't know showed up at the house, all introducing themselves as old friends, old co-workers, or current Ministry and St. Mungo's employees. All of the home's occupants were suddenly swept away in stories of Stephen and Delilah, some that they knew, others that they didn't. Whether or not they knew the stories, though, everyone was clearly cherishing them.

Lily and Marlene learned a lot more than the Marauders did simply because they had not known Stephen and Delilah as well. They knew that James was the only child they had had, and that he was their world.

But Stephen and Delilah had gone to Hogwarts together, he in Gryffindor and she in Ravenclaw, and they had never crossed paths. After their graduation, Stephen became an auror and Delilah became an emergency healer at St. Mungo's. Stephen had to reieve treatment from St. Mungo's after an auror mission and his healer was none other than Delilah Frantz. For a year after that, Stephen would just-so-happen to get injuries while on the job, and off, in order to be sent to the ER. Delilah, being her ever so brilliant self, finally asked him what his deal was. Stephen asked her out, promising that he would stop purposely getting hurt.

They were friends for the next year and then decided to get transferred together - to Russia. As people are telling it, they soaked up the adventure, only returning to England to visit family. At some point they got married in a private ceremony, only a few other people in attendance. That happened while they were in Scotland, and they traveled all over Europe and Asia, even settling down in Central America for a few months. Eventually, though, Stephen and Delilah moved back to England with the desire to have a child - James.

With two water glasses, Lily walked back towards the parlor, humming to herself softly. Upon entering the room, she passed James and a woman who was introducing herself as Elizabeth Sutton.

"I met your parents in Dublin, 1959," she said to him.

Glancing back, Lily was pleased to see that James's was smiling a little bit - he seems happy to hear all of these stories about his parents, and he will surely hear one from at least everyone. Looking around, Lily was able to locate Sirius as well, who had also been swept `up by all of the Potter's friends to be told stories. Remus took a glass from her when she reached him, and in silence they watched their surroundings.

A man from the Ministry interrupted our silence kindly.

"I'm Nigel Hathaway," he told us, shaking our hands with his large and calloused ones. "I spent two months here late last year, just before Christmas," he explained. "I was on an Order assignment and got hurt pretty bad so they took me in. I loved them very dearly, of course, as everyone else here does. How are James and Sirius handling this, though? The way that Stephen and Delilah spoke about them, I could tell that they were close."

Remus and Lily shared a look before telling Nigel how they thought the two were handling the deaths of their parents. As Remus spoke to Nigel, Lily looked around for the two men in question. Sirius was now talking to a different person than he had been before, and James -

James's face had fallen, no longer holding even a trace of a smile. He looked pale and rather sick - Elizabeth was still talking to him, but he seemed to have stopped listening. His eyes were blank and he was staring at the woman completely expressionless. He nodded to something she said, and she reached out to touch him, but before she could, he had turned and left the room.

"Excuse me," murmured Lily, touching Remus's arm to catch his attention.

Remus watched her for a moment as she walked away, clearly in a daze. When he noticed that James was no where to be found, his stomach lurched and he understood. Making an internal vow to find them after his conversation with Nigel was over, he returned to the man with haste.

Lily passed Elizabeth, making eye contact with her only for a second before she left the room and came to a stop in the foyer. Elizabeth had looked hopeless, and Lily bit down on her tongue to refrain from saying anything. It infuriated her that anyone would say anything to James today that even had the _possibility_ of upsetting him.

James was not in the foyer, though. A pretty and petite woman saw Lily, though, and discreetly pointed with her finger. Lily, smiled at her gratefully and followed the direction to the kitchen. She didn't find James in there either, but noticed the the door to the office was open.

Looking in cautiously, I saw James sitting on one of the cushioned seats near his father's desk. His face was hidden by his hands, his fingers in his untamable hair, messing it up even more than it already is.

"James," Lily called softly, closing the door behind her. James made no move to show that he heard her. His breathing was shallow, but even and Lily knew he is just trying to come to terms with whatever he had just been told.

She sat beside him, wrapping her arm around his ribs.

"What happened?"

James didn't answer for a few seconds, and when he did his voice was dry.

"A woman... Elizabeth - she was neighbors with my parents when my mum got pregnant with me."

"Yes, I heard her say that she met them in Dublin," Lily supplied.

James nodded, and sat up, blowing out a long breath. His hair was standing up in all different directions now and Lily made sure that she didn't smile because of it.

"Anyways... My parents didn't move back to England until my mum was about five months along. Elizabeth -" he sighed, shaking his head. "Elizabeth told me that... That there were two babies. " Lily gasped. "I didn't - neither of my parents ever told me that. And at first I thought it was because they were sad about it, you know, but no. I suppose it's because after the other baby died my dad ran off."

Lily internally cursed, _what the hell was that woman thinking telling him this?_

"James," she began quietly. "James, I know that your father loved your mother very much."

"Yeah, I didn't say that I didn't know that," James said harshly. "But he still left, didn't he? He didn't even want to stick around and help my mum cope or to wait around for me. Elizabeth said that my mum went and found him - cussed him out, probably - and that's when they decided to move to England."

Lily thought hard for a moment. "He couldn't have helped you mum cope if he didn't know how to cope himself."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because I know that you love him very much, James. You're just angry at a mistake he made seventeen years ago. And you shouldn't be."

There was silence for a few minutes and Lily thought for a second that she had angered James. His face, though, told her otherwise. James seemed to not have anything to say on the subject any more. Lily was just about to suggest they go back to kitchen when James spoke.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"I mean - I know we're friends now and stuff, but... Why did you come in here and try to comfort me?"

"I - because we're friends," Lily repeated lamely. In all honesty, her feelings for James made it so that whenever he was in pain, she was too. She couldn't stand to see him upset.

James looked sideways at her. "This is the kind of stuff that I do for you."

Lily snorted. "What, does that mean I'm not allowed ot be there for you, then?"

James smirked. "Not at all, Evans," he replied, addressing her by her surname again. "But you're giving me an odd feeling. What're you playing at?"

"Nothing," said Lily coolly. Inside she was beginning to get nervous - James is toeing on treacherous, emotional, grounds now.

James stared at her for a minute. Lily could feel her face begin to heat up, and as soon as she felt it, James began grinning. His grin widened as her blush grew a deeper shade of red.

"I'm going to keep staring at you if you don't talk."

"I'm making sure you're alright because I care for you."

"Well,_ I care about you too_."

Lily gave him a look.

"Now is not the place -"

"If you want me to feel better -"

"You are such a prat!"

"- My parents would be happy."

Lily gave James another nasty look. "Don't bring them into this -"

"If they were here they would put themselves in it."

Lily bit her lip. What was she suppose to say? _'Oh, I've had a crush on you since Christmas our sixth year and ever since this term started I've been in love with you'_?Lily scoffed at the thought. No - she isn't like that. She especially isn't like that with James. Lily suddenly became aware that James was still staring at her, just as he had promised, and now his handsome face bore his arrogant smirk.

Thinking of several different ways to go about this, she sighed.

"Would you like to - er - go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

James's face broke into a grin.

"Are you serious?" he chortled, looking the happiest Lily had seen him in a long time. She got butterflies in her stomach at the thought.

"No," she smirked. "Sirius is out in the parlor still -"

Lily gasped. Her use of the Marauder's infamous joke had done it for James. He grabbed her face on either side and pressed his lips against her's. She attempted to laugh at this, and, grinning, James pressed his tongue into her mouth.

Oblivious to the world around them, they did not hear the people talking outside of the office. Nor did they notice when the door burst open.

"HOLY SHIT!"

James and Lily flew apart and gaped at the door, which Sirius had burst through, obviously looking for James. Remus was just behind him. When the werewolf saw the two, his scarred face broke into a large grin.

"YOU WERE JUST - YOU SNOGGED EVANS!"

"Sirius, lower your voice!" Lily yelled, turning bright red. James was grinning and she smacked him on the chest.

"MY BABY!" Sirius fake wailed. He enveloped James into his arm, James shaking with laughter. "MY BABY IS ALL GROWN UP - OH MY WORD!"

Lily looked at Remus helplessly as the werewolf doubled over in laughter.

"Can you fuss over me later, Padfoot?" James laughed.

"OH, of course! Snog - continue to snog as long as you want. I will tell people that you are busy and they shall wait!"

Sirius took a few, long strides and left the room, exclaiming to the entire manor that their schedule is going to be rightfully delayed.

Remus bade the two good-bye, and then closed the door behind him as he stepped out as well.

"If I date you, I date him too, huh?"

James grimaced. "We're kind of a package deal," he answered, smiling.

"Well, can it include Remus so I'm not a third wheel?"

"Of course Moony is included!" exclaimed James happily. "Now, the service is delayed so that we can snog - do not lie to my parents' friends, Lilian."

"My names not Lilian -"

"It was rhetorical," muttered James, pulling her to him again with a wide grin.


End file.
